City Cast Madison

The Madison Public Library has a wealth of resources beyond books. Your little orange card can help you grow a garden or get across town. You can digitize those old family photos or make cheap photocopies.Tana Elias, the library’s digital services and marketing, lets us in on a few things you probably didn’t know your little card can do. Also mentioned on the show: 🌳 Free State Park Day Passes (in Cambridge, DeForest, Stoughton and Verona libraries)📣 RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center 50th Anniversary Rally at the CapitolWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Artist Erika Koivunen is no stranger to tragedy. Just eighteen months after losing her husband, Aaron Howard, a massive fire torched her entire S. Park Street workshop. Acme Ironworks, the shop that she and her husband shared as metalworkers, burned to the ground after a thunderstorm. The fire caused millions in damages and destroyed several businesses on the block. You’ve probably seen Erika’s work all over Madison: the thirty-foot tall metal tree that greets you on Willy Street, the metal flowers in front of Madison Sourdough, the benches at B.B. Clarke beach, the huge bird sculptures on S. Patterson Street.Now after decades of making art for the Madison community, Erika’s learning to let the community support her. Friends have started a GoFundMe campaign. But how do you pick up and carry on when your world changes overnight?🫶🏽 Support south side businesses recovering from the fire:Acme Ironworks Bike Right/Unbroken Chains CyclesFuegos Towing and Transmisión Latino Jarka’s Art Studio ⚙️ Learn about Erika’s friend, mentor and inspiration: Dr. Evermor’s Art Park.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

“History is written by the victors.” That’s often attributed to Winston Churchill. But what about the other sides of the story? The stories we don’t learn about in school: how some students and staff were denied housing due to their race and why some UW leaders held dangerous, racist ideas about genetic superiority. And what about the stories of students who fought to make campus more accessible and better for all? The UW Public History Project is here to tell them. Kacie Lucchini Butcher is the project’s director. The project’s work evokes another famous quote, this one closer to home, from former UW President Charles Kendall Adams: “Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.” Learn more:🎓 Sifting & Reckoning: UW–Madison’s History of Exclusion and ResistanceWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Happy Earth Week, everyone. Dane County is now the first county in the state to have government facilities 100% powered by renewable energy. The airport, the courthouse, the Alliant Energy Center… their energy use is now completely offset by local renewable energy production. The Yahara Solar farm is online. In other news, the State Assembly would like to ban anyone from banning gasoline engines. Not that anyone was doing that. But, you know, California.And Madison teachers are fighting for cost-of-living raises.The whole City Cast Madison team’s here to rustle up the news. Bianca Martin, Dylan Brogan and Molly Stentz bring you the highs and lows of the week. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

When Pick ‘n Save announced they’d be closing their store on S. Park Street, neighbors were worried. The nearest full-service grocery was miles away. The block seemed headed for another hospital expansion. Few grocers seemed interested in running a store in south Madison. The Pick n’ Save store was too old and not large enough for many grocery chains to take over. The area is considered low-income. The city struggled to find someone with a business plan to make it work.But now, a locally-owned independent grocer has stepped up. Kristie Mauer grew up in the grocery business. Her dad started the Fresh Market on campus, as well as grocery stores in Wisconsin Dells and Milwaukee. She’s excited to run a neighborhood store to serve Madison’s southside. Here’s a sneak peek inside Mauer’s Urban Market.🥑 Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Madison was the first city in the nation to offer curbside recycling service. But fifty-five years of celebrating recycling’s virtues has driven us to optimism. We wishfully toss things in the cart and hope for the best. Friends, we are here to tell you that is NOT how this works. In fact, your good deeds are messing things up - gumming up machines and putting workers in harm’s way.Can you recycle plastic bags? Nope. Those little tabs from your bread bags? Nope. Bottle caps? Nope. And please, for the love of Gaylord Nelson, no shower curtains.So what’s a Madisonian to do? Bryan Johnson, Madison’s Recycling Coordinator, is here to help sort it all out.🌎 Ready to become a recycling evangelist? Check out Madison’s Master Recycler Program. ♻️ Learn what can be recycled in Madison and in nearby communities. Other Earth Day (and week) events:🌱 UW-Madison Earth Week🔌 Oregon Earth Day FestivalWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

The Dane County Board is poised to vote this Thursday on whether to spend an additional $13 million on renovating the oldest part of Dane County Jail. The latest vote comes after the Board has already earmarked $166 million for the project so far - and after the Board already approved a plan for a smaller, cheaper facility. County Executive Joe Parisi vetoed that plan, and is pushing for a larger version of the plan that Sheriff Kalvin Barrett favors. But Dane County Supervisor Dana Pellebon says not so fast. And she might have the votes on her side.Also:🎧 Listen to our interview with Sheriff Barrett about his vision for the Dane County Jail  Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

There’s been a flurry of court action regarding abortion. What exactly is legal in Wisconsin is confusing — and up for debate.While Wisconsin’s 1849 law banning abortions is in effect, some people are mail-ordering mifepristone and misoprostol through online pharmacies to end their pregnancies.But new dueling court decisions raise questions about access to medical abortion. Medical abortions involve taking a two-drug combination rather than surgery. It’s the most common kind of abortion.Meanwhile, a lawsuit seeking to overturn Wisconsin’s 1849 law is moving through the courts. Michelle Velasquez, Director of Legal Advocacy and Services for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, gives us an update on the court challenges.Read more:https://isthmus.com/news/news/abortion-pill-case-impact-on-wisconsin-is-unclear/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/14/alito-keeps-access-to-abortion-pill-unchanged-for-next-five-days-while-supreme-court-reviews-emergency-appeals-00092165Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

On the roundup this week, we dig into the surprising election results of a coy UW-Madison conservative. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is making moves in lawsuits over abortion access. And what should Wisconsin do about wolves making a comeback in the state? The whole City Cast pack's here scavenging for the news. Bianca Martin, Dylan Brogan and Molly Stentz talk about things big and small. Like why Dylan hates soccer.Also on this episode:🧬 UW-Madison's Science Expeditions Campus Open House is this weekend!Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

There’s a new french bakery in Madison, tucked away in the old New Orleans Take-out spot on Fordem Ave by the railroad tracks. It’s a non-descript spot on Madison’s northside. A small sandwich board stands outside. The old jazz mural is still there. But inside, the flavors explode. Handmade asparagus quiche with buttery, flaky dough. Kouign-amann, the cake that seems to be half butter by weight. Fresh baked croissants. Savory tarts. Spice buns. It’s called Far Breton Bakery. And their grand opening is tomorrow. Owner Marie-Arzel Young shares some of her baking secrets with us… and let’s just say... they involve butter. 🥐 Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers.Also on the show:🎬 The Wisconsin Film Festival starts tonight🧀 The Dane County Farmers’ Market is back on the square this Saturday🚴🏿‍♀️ Freewheel is having a big ‘ole bike sale this weekend🧬 And the UW-Madison Science Expeditions Campus Open House is this weekend!Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.